Biography – Murdo Fraser

Murdo Fraser lives with his wife and son in Perthshire. Born in 1965 and educated at Inverness Royal Academy, he graduated LLB from Aberdeen University in 1986, and went on to do the postgraduate Diploma in Legal Studies. He has since worked as a solicitor in Aberdeen and Edinburgh and prior to his election to the Scottish Parliament was an associate with Ketchen and Stevens WS in Edinburgh, specialising in commercial law.

Murdo first became active in politics at Aberdeen University. He held office as Chairman of the Scottish Young Conservatives from 1989 to 1992, and thereafter became the first Scot to be elected Chairman of National YCs, a position he held for one year from 1991. He was an active member and then Deputy Chairman of Edinburgh Central Conservative Association.

In the 1997 General Election, Murdo stood as the Conservative candidate for East Lothian, finishing in second place. He fought the North Tayside constituency for the Tories in the 1999 Scottish Parliament elections and again at the 2001 General Election. He became a Member of the Scottish Parliament in August 2001 following the resignation of the previous List Member for Mid-Scotland and Fife, and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007.

Murdo became Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives in November 2005. He was appointed Scottish Conservative Spokesman on Education and Lifelong Learning in 2007, having previously been Spokesman on Enterprise & Lifelong Learning and prior to that Deputy Spokesman on Education. He is co-convenor of the Cross-Party Group on the Scottish Economy and serves as Parliamentary Advisor to the Autism Treatment Trust.

Murdo is a member of the Scottish Tory think tank "The Tuesday Club", and a patron of the Conservative Christian Fellowship. He is a Board Member of Dundee University Students’ Association, a Director of the charity The Scotland Funds Limited, and a member of the Scotland-Malawi Partnership.

Publications include the pamphlets: Defending our British Heritage (1993); Full Fiscal Freedom (1998) and Scotland and the Euro (1999); and Murdo compiled and edited a collection of essays in 2006 entitled ‘The Blue Book’.

Murdo's interests outside politics include hillwalking (he has successfully climbed Kilimanjaro and more than half of Scotland’s 284 Munros), football, classic cars, travel (especially Africa), and Scottish history.